In certain geographical areas, particularly in regions of Florida, an organic material known as humate is found. The form of such humate is generally a crust or covering for sand in swampy areas. Certain manufacturing procedures exist wherein these swampy areas are mined or dredged in order to obtain, for example, the ilmenite which is contained in the sand whereby the sand is thus processed for obtaining titanium dioxide for use as a whitening agent such as in paints. During this mining process, the humate is dissolved by, for example, sulphuric acid, and after the acid is neutralized, the humate is deposited in a retention pond. Thus in this process the humate is a waste material which accumulates in the retention ponds and presents a serious environmental problem.